Dropbox vs Smash (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Dropbox grades higher than Smash: 2.8 against 2.4 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Dropbox grades higher on features, ease of use and platforms. Smash grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Dropbox
Cloud storage and file sync with transfer and signing tools
Smash
Browser-based file transfer with no sign-up and no paid size cap
Which one is for you
Pick Dropbox if
- Fits if you want 2 TB that syncs across Windows, Mac and Linux
- Works for people who send big files to clients, with transfers of up to 50 GB on Plus
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're staying free, because Basic stops at 2 GB
- Pricey if you only need a few hundred GB, as the smallest paid plan is 2 TB at $9.99 a month, the dear end of this category
- Skip it if you want end-to-end encryption for yourself, since it's on Advanced, which needs 3 people
- Watch out: monthly billing costs more, $11.99 for Plus and $18 a user for Standard
- Watch out: there's no trial of Plus, and reviewers say reaching a real person in support is hard
Pick Smash if
- Fits if you send a file now and then and want no account
- Works for a team that sends to clients and wants a branded page on Pro
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you send over 2 GB free: larger transfers queue behind Pro
- Skip it if you want storage, as the free plan keeps nothing
- Watch out: Team costs more as accounts grow, $25 a month for 10 and $125 for 50 on monthly billing
- Watch out: prices exclude VAT, and the two-year Pro term bills $115.20 up front
How we grade them
| 2.8GPADropboxGood | 2.4GPASmashFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DPlus is $9.99 a month billed yearly, and $9.99 is exactly where the dearest tenth of this category begins, against a middle of $5. You do get 2 TB for it, but there's no smaller paid plan, so a person who wants 200 GB pays for 2 TB or stays on 2 GB. | CPro is $6 a month billed annually ($10 monthly), between the category's $3.99 and $6.95 marks. |
| Free plan and trial | CBasic is free for good and it's 2 GB, which one phone's camera roll will fill. There's no free trial of Plus either; the 30-day trial is on the Standard and Advanced team plans only. | CFree needs no sign-up but caps transfers at 2 GB and 7 days with no storage, and larger ones queue behind Pro. |
| Features | BSync across unlimited devices, old versions and deleted files back for 30 days on Plus and a year on Advanced, 50 GB transfers, PDF editing and signing, team folders and an admin console. It misses an A because end-to-end encryption is an Advanced feature needing 3 users. | CSending large files works, but it is transfer only, and storage is 1 TB on Pro and 2 TB on Team. |
| Ease of use | A4.8 from about 913,000 App Store ratings, and the thing is a folder: drop a file in, it turns up on your other machines. Reviewers do say reaching a real person in support is hard when something goes wrong. | BNo store rating on record, but there is nothing to set up: open the page and send. |
| Platforms and integrations | AEverywhere: web, Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and Android, which is more than most of this category manages. It plugs into Google Workspace, Adobe, Canva and HubSpot, connects to ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, and has a public API. | BWeb plus Mac, iPhone and Android apps, with 1 integration and no Windows app listed. |
| Best for | one folder that's the same on every computer | sending files from the browser with no sign-up |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Dropbox and Smash. How we grade
Price against what you get
Dropbox starts at $9.99 a month and scores 3.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Smash starts at $6 a month and scores 2.7.
Dropbox scores higher, and starts $3.99 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other file storage and sync services on the chart, none scores higher than Dropbox for less, and 10 score higher than Smash for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Dropbox also covers documents and file sync.
At a glance
| Dropbox | Smash | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $9.99 per month, billed yearly | $6 per month, billed annually ($10 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Basic plan: 2 GB to store and share files. | Free: no sign-up, 2 GB per transfer, transfers valid for 7 days, no storage. Beyond 2 GB, transfers queue behind Pro transfers. |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial on the Standard and Advanced team plans | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Dropbox | Smash & Co |
| Price read from | dropbox.com | fromsmash.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Dropbox
- The free Basic plan includes only 2 GB of storage.
- The cheapest paid plan is Plus at 2 TB for one person; the plans page lists no smaller paid tier.
- End-to-end encryption, single sign-on and audit logs are limited to Advanced, which requires at least 3 users.
- Monthly billing costs more: $11.99 for Plus and $18 per user for Standard, against $9.99 and $15 on yearly billing.
Smash
- The free plan has no storage and caps transfers at 2 GB and 7 days.
- Team prices step up with the number of user accounts: $25 a month monthly for 10, $125 for 50.
- Prices are shown ex-VAT; the page says VAT may apply, and the two-year term bills $115.20 up front for Pro.
- Storage is 1 TB on Pro and 2 TB on Team, and the free plan stores nothing.
Key features
Dropbox
- Sync across devices
- Files stay in sync between the desktop apps, the mobile apps and the web, and every paid plan allows an unlimited number of connected devices.
- File recovery and version history
- Deleted files and earlier versions can be restored for 30 days on Plus, 180 days on Standard and 1 year on Advanced.
- Large file transfers
- Send a copy of files by link: up to 50 GB per transfer on Plus and up to 100 GB on Standard and Advanced, where transfers can also be password protected.
- PDF editing and signatures
- Edit, annotate and sign PDFs inside Dropbox. The paid plans list unlimited self-signing and 3 signature requests per month.
- Team folders and admin console
- Standard adds team-owned folders, groups and an admin console. Advanced adds tiered admin roles, audit logs with file event tracking and single sign-on.
- Connections to AI tools
- Dropbox content can be connected to AI tools such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini to find and summarize files and save work back to Dropbox.
Smash
- Sign-up-free sending
- The free plan needs no account or payment. Transfers go out by email or share link and expire after up to 7 days.
- Unlimited transfer size
- Pro, Team and Enterprise have no per-transfer cap and keep files up to 30 days. Free transfers above 2 GB queue behind paid ones.
- Customization and branding
- Paid plans change send, receive and download pages with a logo and background, and add a custom subdomain. Enterprise adds a CNAME.
- File reception
- Paid plans create drop-off links so other people can send files to you, and transfers sent and received appear in a manager.
- Tracking and security
- Views and downloads are tracked on paid plans. The plan table lists password-protected transfers, antivirus scanning and 256-bit AES encryption.
- Outlook add-in and API
- A plug-in sends large files from Outlook, and a developer API and SDKs are listed on the site.
Plans
Dropbox
Basic$0
2 GB to store and share files.
Plus$9.99
per month, billed yearly ($11.99 billed monthly)
For 1 person: 2 TB of storage, 30 days to restore deleted files and transfers of up to 50 GB.
Standard$15
per user / month, billed yearly ($18 billed monthly)
For 1 person or more: storage starts at 3 TB for the team, 180-day restore, 100 GB transfers, team folders and admin controls.
Advanced$24
per user / month, billed yearly ($30 billed monthly)
For 3 people or more: storage starts at 15 TB, 1-year restore, end-to-end encryption, single sign-on and tiered admin roles.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom pricing with integrations for third-party security tools and live support from dedicated staff.
Smash
Free$0
No sign-up. 2 GB per transfer, available 7 days, no stored files.
Pro$6
per month, billed annually ($10 billed monthly)
1 user, unlimited transfer size, 30-day availability, 1 TB storage, customization and file reception.
Team$15
per month for 10 accounts, billed annually ($25 monthly)
10 to 50 user accounts, 2 TB storage, user management and Pro features. Larger tiers cost more.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited users, custom quote, single sign-on, SCIM provisioning and a custom CNAME domain.
Ways to pay less
Dropbox
- Annual discount
About 17% to 20% lower with yearly billing
Billed yearly, Plus is $9.99 a month instead of $11.99, Standard is $15 per user instead of $18, and Advanced is $24 per user instead of $30.
Smash
- Annual discount
40% off with annual billing
The pricing page shows Pro and Team about 40% cheaper per month on annual billing, and 52% cheaper on a two-year term.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Dropbox or Smash?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Smash is cheaper to start with: $6 a month, against $9.99 a month for Dropbox. Dropbox starts at $9.99 per month, billed yearly, and Smash starts at $6 per month, billed annually ($10 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Dropbox or Smash?
As of Nov 12, 2026, both Dropbox and Smash have a free plan.
Which platforms do Dropbox and Smash run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Dropbox lists Windows and Linux apps. Both list a web app and macOS, iOS and Android apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.